Although Zane fought alongside other Ethereals, his role wasn't particularly impactful—most of the time he was either chipping away at enemies or just cheering from the sidelines.
...
"I want to file a complaint—!"
A scream echoed through the skies above the Cretan Hollow. Billy, a robot, was plummeting at high speed—and was literally on fire.
Not far away, a girl in a green combat suit wasn't shouting like her teammate. Instead, she calmly ran mental calculations.
In about seven seconds, I'll fall into that black barrier.
So thought Anby.
Her timing was flawless. Just a few seconds later, a prismatic glow wrapped around her body, and the next instant, a blinding white light flashed before her eyes.
Inside the Hollow, spatial ripples surged. A vortex cloaked in vibrant colors expanded until, with a flash, it ejected a figure.
Anby landed with grace, slipping through a gap after dodging several crossbars. Her electrified blade scraped a long trench into the ground as she came to a stop.
The Hollow never knew night. Light filtered through the space, revealing flickering black Ether crystals glowing faintly all around—clear signs of recent Hollow activity.
"Ethereals."
Anby spotted enemies ahead. Without hesitation, she gripped her blade and rushed forward.
She fought well, quickly clearing out the Ethereals. After finishing them off, she casually activated the recorder on her headset and began logging the situation—just like in a movie scene.
Not long after, she ran into Billy, the red-jacketed robot boy, who was searching for his teammate.
As Anby was verifying Billy's identity, a tall, shadowy figure stood silently atop a distant rooftop, watching them from above.
"Mm-hmm! Mm-hmm! (Boss, let's jump in and fight!)"
"You trying to teach your boss what to do now?"
Zane rubbed the little Panta in his arms. The tiny Bangboo looked adorable—but had quite the fiery spirit.
Then again, with that color scheme, it kind of made sense.
After all, Pantas are bears, not cats.
"If we get the chance, I should really install a language module for you. This back-and-forth can't go on forever."
Zane wasn't exactly fluent in Bangboo-speak. He hadn't understood a word at first—he'd just picked things up over time through context and guessing.
He remembered the security units didn't speak Bangboo, so New Eridu probably had a language module or some kind of translator for Bangboos.
Not that it mattered yet—he still couldn't leave the Hollow.
Down below, Anby and Billy had already gone through a few more fights and moved deeper in. Now, they were facing off against the Ethereal-corrupted "White Guy."
The next second, the battle erupted.
Moments later, faced with a newly-born Formed Ethereal, the two quickly assessed the situation—and chose to retreat.
Billy triggered the fire suppression system, unleashing a cloud of smoke and dust. Under cover of the chaos, they made their escape.
From high above, Zane watched them go—his Ethereal-enhanced vision clearly tracking the red and green figures below. But his focus wasn't on them.
It was on the Formed Ethereal.
"Panta, let's go."
He turned toward a shimmering spatial rift atop the rooftop. Feeling the Ether energy flowing within, he stepped through.
...
A moment later, somewhere in the old subway terminal—
Tap. Tap. Tap. Unhurried footsteps echoed through the stillness, drawing attention in the silence.
There was no one left here—only Ethereals remained.
"Y'know, back before I came to this world, I actually thought you looked pretty cool."
Zane spoke casually, gazing at the Formed Ethereal before him—and the secure case it was guarding.
This Ethereal had been about to give chase earlier. Now, it was blocked here by him.
Clearly, it didn't understand a word he was saying. With a flash of light, the ornate, multicolored blade connected to its arm ignited as it charged straight at him.
The blade swung down, sharp and swift—aiming to cleave him clean in two with overwhelming force.
But Zane simply raised one hand.
Clang!
The blade stopped cold.
Time seemed to freeze.
The Formed Ethereal's blade was locked in place, caught firmly in Zane's grasp. No matter how much force it exerted, it couldn't move an inch—couldn't even pull the weapon free.
"You've completely lost your mind, haven't you?"
Zane's tone was calm. Some higher-level Ethereals retained a shred of rationality, but the one before him clearly didn't.
In the next instant, a flash of black light erupted. Zane lashed out with a whip-like kick, striking the Ethereal square in the chest. The creature was sent flying, slamming hard into a nearby wall with a thunderous crash, sending up a thick cloud of dust.
As the dust settled, the Formed Ethereal lay collapsed among the rubble. Its core pulsed with erratic, blinding light—it had clearly lost the ability to move.
Zane walked over and reached out, grabbing hold of the core and lifting the entire Ethereal into the air with one hand.
With a subtle squeeze of his black-armored fingers, he crushed the core outright. A chaotic burst of thick Ether surged outward—but all of it was drawn into Zane's body.
Moments later, the last of the Ether was absorbed, and the pale blue glow in Zane's eyes shimmered just a bit brighter.
"As expected. The higher the level, the better the yield."
"Mm-hmm! (Boss, I brought the stuff!)"
Zane turned at the voice. Panta was running over, balancing the safe on his head, tiny arms braced at the sides to keep it steady.
"Now we just wait for someone to come pick it up."
Zane spoke with a hint of ease in his tone. He picked up the safe and looked it over—nothing about it stood out at first glance.
Hard to believe the so-called "legendary" AI—Fairy, the power-hungry, pun-loving disaster of an AI—was sealed inside something so ordinary.
"If only Fairy could talk right now. I'm honestly curious—once it realizes its fate is in someone else's hands, what kind of reaction it'll have... what it'll say."
Zane's gaze drifted away from the safe. He had no intention of keeping Fairy. As an Ethereal, he couldn't even use an AI—not that he cared to.
It'd be far more useful in the hands of the Phaethon siblings.
Suddenly, Zane tilted his head slightly. The distant sounds of battle reached his enhanced senses—likely Anby and Billy fighting off some wandering Ethereals.
The Phaethons would probably arrive to rendezvous soon.
He placed the safe back on Panta's head, and together, the Ethereal and the Bangboo silently vanished into the depths of the abandoned subway terminal.
...
"Wait… are you—Phaethon?!"
Billy's eyes lit up as he looked at the short Bangboo in front of him, who wore an orange scarf and had "01" printed in white on its neck.
Eous smiled, arms crossed as he looked at the two standing before him.